Teamwork

Last night I enjoyed a baseball game at Comerica Park between the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. Although my team (the Tigers) lost, I was struck by something that at first glance, was not quite so obvious; teamwork! No, I’m not talking about the players who do what they enjoy and get paid a handsome salary to do it. However, I am referring to all the “behind the scenes” people it takes to put on a “good game.” These are the people that clean the stadium, sell the food (and unfortunately far too much beer!), take the tickets, clean and stock the restrooms, and keep the grounds. After several innings, you’ll see a team of people (11 to be exact) come out (in unison) and prep the field for the next few innings. They drag chains to smooth the dirt and rake the edges of the infield to make certain it’s level… every inch of it. They do this with great pride and no one seems to want attention…they just do their job and are happy to be a part of something bigger than themselves. None of them will ever be publicly recognized or paid a bunch of money for what they do. But they do it in order to make others look better. Without them, the baseball players would have a tough go of it. Imagine… players that had to level their own field…or sell their own tickets before a game….or worse yet, make sure there was enough toilet paper in the restrooms before they could take the field? Yea…the thought of this sounds a bit crazy…but think about it. These people are there to make others (who get all the credit and the pay) look good. It was a reminder that there are times in life that we need to take a backseat and invest our time and energy in making someone else look good. To support them in ways that might “lift” them to the focal point…without any hope of anything in return…other than our own satisfaction that we have invested in the greater good…for someone else. Who are you investing in today?